Creamy Broccoli Soup (Vegan)

We finished our month of being vegan. My allergies weren't as bad. My skin was clear. My digestive system was operating at optimal speed. It was all good and then we went to Florida and spent 10 days with family over the Thanksgiving holiday. Even though my parents and I are occasional meat-eaters, compared to the rest of the family you could almost say that we eat raw. The rest of the family eats like most of America.

Do you KNOW what eating like the rest of America does to your body after a month without meat and only having small quantities of dairy/ eggs on one or two occasions? Not good things, my friends. Not good things. My face broke out. I got the worst sinus infection. My digestive system alternated between working over-time and production being backed up (TMI?). Now that I'm home I'm eating very little dairy/ eggs and no meat and my body thanks me.

It has been rainy and cold here all week -- perfect soup weather. I threw together this delicious soup the other night.

Creamy Broccoli Soup (Vegan)


3 tbsp flour
4-5 tbsp margarine or other fat/ oil

 4-5 cups vegetable broth 
1-16 oz bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 pinches dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
mashed potato flakes or mashed potato
salt and pepper to taste

Make a roux with the flour and margarine or oil. Slowly add broth and stir until completely mixed and bring to a boil until thickened. Add half of the broccoli, all of the onion, and garlic. Reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft. Puree in blender until smooth and pour back in pot. Add the rest of the broccoli, rosemary, and bay leaves. Simmer until broccoli is completely cooked. Stir in mashed potato/ potato flakes to reach desired consistency (I like mine more thick than soupy) and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

Cilantro Hummus with Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Wrap

My mom and I were trying to come up with something to make for supper. I knew we had spinach that needed to be used and I remembered seeing a jar of roasted red peppers in the pantry. I really wanted to make a wrap with some marinated tofu, but remembered that last time I made wraps with tofu, I marinated it over night and didn't have time for that. While spinach is full of protein (5g/ 1 cup cooked), in order to fill my dad up I thought we would need more "substance" because he's just not frou-frou like that. He doesn't like hummus, but I asked him if he would try it if I made Cilantro Hummus and he said that he would.


Unfortunately our spinach had already spoiled, so we had to use kale instead. It was ok, but I recommend spinach. Any mild flavored leafy green would work; kale is not that.

Cilantro Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans, drained with liquid reserved
1-2 cloves garlic
handful of cilantro
1 tbsp sesame tahini
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Put all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Add garbanzo liquid as needed during blending. Hummus should be thick, but spreadable. Salt to taste and add more lemon juice if needed.

Spinach and Red Pepper Wrap

1 whole wheat tortilla
handful of fresh spinach
1/2 roasted red pepper from jar
3 tbsp cilantro hummus

Wrap. And enjoy. :)

We Don't Just Eat Lettuce

My mom has been wanting to try being vegan for quite some time. I always told her to do it and I'd do it with her, but we could never get my dad on board and for whatever reason she just never attempted it. Back in the spring, my best friend and I tried being vegan for a month and I lasted about 3 weeks but not without some cheating. I was never really committed to it.

A few weeks ago, my parents decided that after we got back from vacationing in the Smokey Mountains that they would be vegan for one month just to see how it goes. Of course, I joined in because I was already going to be eating vegan meals at home since that's what we'd be cooking.

I haven't missed cheese. I would say that I haven't missed eggs or milk, but I already drank soy or almond milk and don't really like eggs if they aren't cooked in something. Eggs are easy enough to replace in recipes. Milk is a bit more difficult if you're replacing with soy just because soy milk has a flavor. Almond milk definitely has a milder, more milk-like consistency and flavor. I really haven't missed cheese though... and I like cheese. A lot.

It's been surprising that I haven't missed cheese. Actually I haven't missed a lot of things. I've noticed that I'm not craving fatty, fried foods. I'm not craving sweets. I'm not craving snacks. I'm not craving carbs.

I'm also not hungry. The meals we cook are filling and the take me through to the next meal.

I feel better. I have more energy. The digestive benefits have been... well, let's just say that going vegan has been a moving experience.

And oh yeah. I've lost a few pounds too.

We've had some tasty meals. Black bean soup, lentil loaf, haystacks (basically a taco salad with beans) without the sour cream and cheese, sloppy joe's made with griller crumbles which we later discovered have milk and egg ingredients (oops!), spaghetti with marinara and tofu meatballs... umm... we've had other things but I don't remember what they are. We've also eaten in restaurants. We went to our favorite chinese place and ordered their sesame tofu and various vegetable side dishes. I have been to our favorite mexican restaurant twice. Once I had vegetarian fajitas and the other time I had black beans (amazing there), rice, and grilled veggies.

Did I mention that I haven't cheated and slipped cheese onto something? Even when we were at someone's house eating haystacks I bypassed the cheese and ranch dressing and just poured on a little extra salsa. When one of the offices I was working in ordered pizza for the staff (and even got a vegetarian pizza!), I politely declined and ate my black bean soup I had brought from home even though the cheese was really tempting because at that point I was only a few days into being vegan and I was still craving everything.

I've also been exercising at least 4 times a week. After Kirby's trainer comes this morning, I'm heading to the gym. I've been trying to add more weights to my routine rather than just doing cardio. I enjoy cardio more because I don't hurt from it the next day, but I know I need resistance training to build muscle.

Water... yeah. That's more difficult for me. I did cut out my caffeine and suffered through the caffeine withdrawal. I had a little caffeine yesterday, but I mostly cut it out to quit being dependent on it and drinking it everyday. So once a week or so, no big deal. I'm trying to increase my water intake to about a gallon a day. I can usually manage half a gallon, but when I'm at home and not thirsty I just don't drink.

My dad says that he's not going to continue being vegan when the month is over, but as for me... I think I'd like this new diet change to stick around. I'm not going to be so strict that I don't eat if someone else is serving something with cheese or if I'm at church potluck, but when I eat at home or in a restaurant (except for on rare occasions) I think I'll choose vegan.

And guess what? I've eaten more than just lettuce.

Kale and Cranberry Salad

I made this simple kale salad to pair with my Black Bean and Potato Soup. I first had something similar to this at a friend's house last year and made it myself not long after that and then again tonight, but with variations. I typically only make enough to eat at that meal because I think it's best served fresh.

I'm not really giving measurements here because this is something you'll have to adjust to suit your tastes and needs.

Kale and Cranberry Salad
with Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

Kale
Craisins
Toasted sliced almonds

Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

Lemon juice
Olive oil
garlic powder
sea salt
cracked pepper
greek seasoning spice mix


I do about a 5:1 ratio with the lemon juice: olive oil. I add just enough water to make it more palatable. I season to taste and shake well.

Cut kale into small pieces, add dressing and massage greens gently until they darken and soften. Add craisins and let chill in refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Add toasted almonds immediately before serving.

Black Bean and Potato Soup

I know it's been a long time since I posted a recipe. Life got crazy for a little while, but I think it's finally settling down.

My family recently made the decision to try to be vegan for a month and see how it goes. We have also eliminated caffeine. In addition, I'm back into my exercise routine. Let me tell you, the first two days were awful. My head hurt SO BAD from the caffeine withdrawal, but the headache did eventually go away and ibuprofen got me through until it did. I wasn't anymore tired than usual due to my morning workouts, so at least there was that!

Some meals that we've had the last few days have been things like an italian eggplant stew of sorts served over rice. Very flavorful, but probably not my favorite thing. I also made this lentil loaf but will be making changes to the recipe next time to make it drier and more meatloafy. Last night we had sloppy joe's made with griller crumbles and fries. And tonight ya'll... I outdid myself.

I made the best black bean soup I have ever made. That's not really saying much since it was only the second one I've made, but it was SO delicious. There is not a single thing that I would do different, but if you wanted you could add a couple of carrots to get more veggies into your day.  We had it with a kale salad, for which the recipe will post tomorrow. Over all it was a very healthy meal that was very low fat, but filling and nutritious... but best of all it tasted amazing.


Black Bean and Potato Soup

2 different colored bell peppers, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeno with seeds, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/8-1/4 cup vegetable oil (for sauteing)
4 cans black beans with liquid, divided
3 cups water
2 cups cubed potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3 small-medium potatoes)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp vegetable or chicken seasoning (I used George Washington)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
ground cayenne pepper to taste

1) Saute bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, and garlic in oil until soft. Put 2 cans of beans and sauteed vegetables in blender and puree. Add part of the water if needed.

2) Simmer pureed ingredients with all others in a pot until potatoes are soft.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with a simple kale salad or other green salad and whole wheat bread or crackers.

Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

My family loves Mexican food. That might actually be an understatement. In fact, there have been months that have gone by where we've eaten at our favorite Mexican restaurant at least 2-3 times a week. We know the servers, the managers, the chip boys, and the hostesses by name and they know us.

The first time we had tomatillo salsa was at El Mesón in Chattanooga. They always served their chips with a jar of tomato salsa and a jar of tomatillo salsa. I never liked the "green salsa" then, but I love it now! Our current favorite Mexican restaurant's tomatillo salsa is very spicy. I like spicy foods, but not so spicy it burns my taste buds off! Our favorite Mexican restaurant in Spartanburg had perfect tomatillo salsa and when we walked in the door, someone would immediately head to our table with a fresh bowl of it as we were being seated. Like I said, we ate there a lot.

Since we haven’t found a restaurant around here with good tomatillo salsa, I decided to make my own.

Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)

Makes 4-5 cups

1 ½ - 2 lbs tomatillos

2 medium sized jalapenos

2 cloves garlic

1 large onion

1 ½ tsp sea salt

Handful of cilantro

Juice of ½ a lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel husks off of tomatillos and rinse tomatillos under water to remove sticky residue. Peel onion and cut into quarters. Peel garlic. Cut stems off of jalapenos and slice in half. Put first 4 ingredients on baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through roasting.

Remove from oven and put everything except the tomatillos in food processor and process until all pieces are very small. Core the tomatillos with a small paring knife (this should be easy since they will be soft) and place in food processor. Process all ingredients until they reach desired consistency (I like mine smooth).

Es muy sabrosa!

Quinoa with Black Beans

Forgive my absence. Life happened. I've cooked lots of yummy things, but not much of anything that was more than two ingredients and I definitely did not take any pictures. I've experimented with grilled tofu recently. In short here is my recipe: Tofu with water pressed out sliced into 6 pieces + marinade of your choice. Marinate for a couple of hours. Throw it on a clean grill (also... you might want to spray the grill with Pam or brush it with oil or something before lighting it)... turn it at some point. Take it off when the tofu has shrunk some and looks dryish on the edges... or whatever you think looks "done". Maybe 20 minutes?

So I've been thinking about black beans and cilantro for a few days. Black bean tacos. Black beans and rice. Black bean soup. Pico de gallo. Fresh salsa. You get the idea.

We had a box of quinoa in the pantry and some cilantro in the refrigerator and black beans are a staple in my house. If we run out its time to go to the grocery store. Well actually, it IS time to go to the grocery store, but we still had black beans.

Quinoa with Black Beans (and cilantro!)

2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (um, minus the handful that I ate)
1 can of mild Rotel
3/4 cup of uncooked quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp cumin
2 gloves garlic minced
1/2 medium onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 handful of cilantro, stems removed, chopped

Garnish:
cilantro
lime wedges

Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil, add everything else. Stir it around, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and a twist of lime. To make this a one pot meal, add some frozen corn and chopped multicolored bell peppers.


And the lazy girl's version of the nutritional analysis is as follows:

Calories: on the low side
Fat: on the low side
Protein: high
Sodium: maybe

Summary: good for your heart and butt and tastes delicious too!